This week on Marketplace Middle East

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This week, MME looks at why BP has been excluded from the next round of oil concessions in the UAE.

Story highlights

MME talks to the head of the World Trade Organization about boosting trade in the Arab World

Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the WTO assesses the potential of a Greater Arab Free Trade Area

In Focus: how tense diplomatic relations between the EU and the Gulf States have cost BP

FACETIME: Pascal Lamy, Director-General, World Trade Organization

As the post Arab spring states look to rebuild their economies, boosting trade is one way to encourage growth. The Arab world is home to more than 350 million people, a potentially huge market. A proposed Greater Arab Free Trade Area or GAFTA, could tap into this potential market. This week MME speaks to Pascal Lamy, the Director-General of the World Trade Organization and asked him about boosting trade and increasing economic output.

IN FOCUS: BP oil exclusion

A diplomatic spat between the EU and the Gulf States is beginning to impact business in the region. The European Parliament strained relations last month when it condemned the UAE for a crackdown on civil rights activists, lawyers and academics. The first victim of that political row seems to be BP. MME takes a look at how the oil giant has been excluded from the next round of oil concessions in the UAE.